Description

Waimea is the the flagship crag at Rumney and home of some of the hardest routes in the country. The schist looks like a crashing wave. Routes climb up the imposing overhanging features. My friend Lee constantly worried that Waimea would tip over because of its undercut nature. I think a bigger worry is the humbling that tends to happen to the climber on these powerful and technical routes.

Waimea faces south and slightly west. The crag gets sun in the afternoon. Many of the routes, because of their steep angle, stay dry in the rain.

Getting There

The approach is long by sport climbing standards. Park in the lot. DO NOT PARK ALONG THE ROAD. From the small parking lot, take the shortcut trail across the hillside, passing Bonsai on the way. Follow this trail up the hill, to the right side of Waimea. It's also possible to hike up from Lower Darth Vader. Expect 30 minutes of walking.

Project Draws

On December 7, 2013, all of Waimea was stripped of fixed draws. Many of the draws were in really bad shape. If (when?) you put draws on your project, please put up quality quickdraws. Hanging your old junk draws on your project might seem like a good idea at the time, but many subsequent climbers will be cursing you as they clip the mank that you hung on the route. So, take one for the team, go get some new draws, and hang those on your project.

The crux of Coral Sea is like climbing a refrigerator. It involves a bear hug sequence in which both hands use side-pull slopers with the friction and position of the edges of your fridge. Once established over the roof, the flat sidepulls continue for many more moves. After 15 feet or so, a crimp offers a chance to actually grab onto something. Despite its small nature, it feels like a jug. The climbing remains pumpy to the end.This is perhaps one of the most friction dependant climbs on the wa...[more]Browse More Classics in NH

there is an old(?) bolt line that goes straight up the arete and face above the start of Dodge The Lemons... Just out of curiosity does anyone know the history on that line? A bolted line that never got done? or am I reading something wrong...

Many of the draws at Waimea are becoming quite an issue. Between worn through aluminum clipping biners and UV bleached nylon tatter, I think it may be time to open up a discussion of funding Perma Draws from Climb Tech.

There was a bit of an uproar surrounding the fixing of routes at Shagg crag, but judging by the sentiment of the RCA and enforcement by the Nation Forset Service, I think the issue would be approached more liberally.

I believe that it would be a responsible gesture for Waimea stewardship to gather a bunch of locals to chip in whatever they can to make Waimea a safer place to climb.

This would start by gathering a list of willing locals and deciding which routes should be tackled first (Techno, Whip Tide, Suburban).

I know many people are already on board to chip in cash. Lee, Jay, Kayte, Tom, and Emile have expressed interest. I'm sure we could find many more via word of mouth.

Fixing a 9 bolt route such as Techno would be around 170, while a longer route such as Whipe Tide would be more like 240.

I am up for discussion and cash contribution (both to within reason). Which crags "allow" permanent fixed-draws and which do not?

Follow-up - I e-mailed ClimbTech about making their Perma Draws less visible at Rumney and a Manager responded very quickly with this - "We can and are ordering a clear greyish tubing. We can also special order different colors and powder coat biners and quick-links. It just adds expense. We could use a light grey tubing that we have in stock and the rest could be painted on-site to save some money if you wish. Can you gives us an idea of potential quantities as well as the colors you are looking for and we can try to get a quote together."

Are we even sure it was removed (in this latest instance) for ethical reasons? I have heard that it was being used to clean boulder problems at some point. For all we know somebody spaced or had to leave the area and didn't put it back, so it might be stashed somewhere below the cliff. It might be worth scouring the area if it hasn't been done already.

As far as the fixed draws go, the RCA is still working with the Forest Service to tweak the Climbing Plan. Currently, all the fixed draws are technically considered "stashed gear" , and banned if they are left over 14 days. I believe the RCA is trying to reduce the number of fixed draws, but have those deemed really necessary be higher quality and be considered part of the bolt installation, and therefor legal in the eyes of the FS. That is my take, but it is all being discussed and worked out. In the mean time, as a pure safety consideration, we climbers need to get up, inspect and take down any old worn gear. If we could reduce the numbers some in the process, it would probably go a long way to convince the FS that we are not out of control, and more likely to be agreeable to our wishes. Consensus opinion of Rumney climbers would probably be that fixed gear on the Man Overboard roof is "necessary", so I would think it would be OK to replace them for now.

It was quite delightful to enjoy the use of a fully serviceable Waimea ladder during the month of October, but regrettably, the ladder has vanished for yet another iteration of inconsiderate ethics imposition.

This, despite an official thumbs up vote from the RCA and an overwhelming majority opinion from the community at large. It's almost laughable at this point.

".... an overwhelming majority opinion from the community at large."Was a poll taken? When? In what forum/meeting and what was the number of votes cast? What was the final tally for and against keeping the ladder? For instance, two votes to 1 is pretty overwhelming but meaningless I am afraid.

Hey Soon. The last time an actual vote was held was either in 2007 or 2008 at an RCA meeting at the Rock Barn. The result was the ladder would stay. More recently, it's been in conversations with people who climb at Wiamea, throughout the summer and fall. While this is not scientific polling, it's pretty easy to understand where the community stands if you're there on any given weekend, let alone many months of weekends.

Thank you Erik for the info. Much appreciated. One point people might want to consider is whether the sentiments of all users of Rumney (and not just Waimea regulars) should be taken into account. And, also, sentiments can change over time.

Soon, I would assume the NFS position would be that it is stashed equipment and therefore abandoned property after 14 days, much like fixed draws.

Your point about non-Wiamea climbers is valid, to me it would be to easy for them to discount the ladders purpose if they've never experienced the cluster that results from 6 climbs worth of climbers trying to get on 1 shared start. In my mind, this is an issue to be resolved by those who climb at this cliff, and understand it's purpose.

At the moment it appears that the ladder will be brought back by the party who took it.

Again, thank you very much Erik. It is good to get all this out in the open and let people decide for themselves. Yes, that Techno .10+ stem corner start is not something one wants to do over and over again :). I understand that. Personally, I do not care if the ladder stays or goes. I think what is more important is if it stays it does not threaten access and either way it does not evolve into a pissing contest between the for and against parties. We do not need that.

I don't remember the FS ever expressing any particular concern about the ladder. They have no problem building ladders and staircases when they feel they are needed for traffic, safety or environmental amelioration. There are plenty of examples right at Rumney that are much more extensive. The last ladder that I remember seeing there had a similar look to the installations that the FS builds, only it was stained gray to fit in with the rock better.

It always amazes me how hard it is for some people to accept that when you have an area used by a large population of people, some installations, trails, cut steps etc. actually help to keep the area and the experience of being there from being ruined by the higher density of people. For instance, cut steps may be glaring to some when they first go in, but if they direct people onto a hardened surface instead of eroding a wide area looking for an easier way up, less damage is caused. The ladder is not as clear cut, but a traffic jam of people or a severely polished start to a route because everybody has to do it to get on numerous popular climbs is probably worse than a well designed ladder.

Hey Soon, I have to say that start to techno is some of my favorite climbing on the cliff. Being one of the people who installed the latest ladder, I can assure you its purpose is not specifically to skip a section of climbing that some find to be tricky. It's so that you can get on the many other climbs shared by that start while others warm up on, or figure out the beta on that tricky start...sorry if you are aware of all this and were simply being sarcastic. Much is lost in the medium of the inter webs...